Hello Everyone!

Some know that, for several years now, we have used an older hymnal to sing from in our evening service. The ??Ǩ?red??Ǩ one actually has a name, ??Ǩ?Inspiring Hymns,??Ǩ by Singspiration. Maybe someday we will migrate for awhile to another favorite hymnal, the ??Ǩ?green??Ǩ one (Great Hymns of the Faith) or move forward in time to one the choir used sporadically a few years ago, the ??Ǩ?grey??Ǩ one (uniquely called ??Ǩ?The Hymnal,??Ǩ what originality!). I suppose it is a good thing the church always bought different color hymnbooks over the years.

While there are some favorites in the red hymnal not in the ??Ǩ?yellow??Ǩ hymnal (the one we use in the morning worship service, ??Ǩ?Hymns for the Family of God??Ǩ), we have been exploring, and hopefully learning some of the songs we don??Ǩ?Ѣt know in the ??Ǩ?red??Ǩ one. Sometimes you can see why a song never became a favorite. But most of the time, it is like finding buried treasure!

While selecting the hymns for this Sunday, in the index I saw a title that grabbed my attention, ??Ǩ?We Would See Jesus.??Ǩ I turned to the page and first discovered the author was familiar. If I dropped a name??Ǩ?Anna B. Warner??Ǩ?most might not connect that she is also the author of the perennial favorite ??Ǩ?Jesus Loves Me.??Ǩ

??Ǩ?We would see Jesus.??Ǩ The theme seems to be based on the request of the Greeks who came to the Temple in Jerusalem (after Jesus Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs triumphal entry) and expressed their desire to Philip: ??Ǩ?Sir, we would see Jesus??Ǩ (John 12:21).

Several tunes have been used with this hymn. None seems to have become a standard. Maybe that is why it did not remain or never was very popular. Here are four of the seven original stanzas.

1. We would see Jesus??Ǩ?for the shadows lengthen
Across the little landscape of our life;
We would see Jesus??Ǩ?our weak faith to strengthen
For the last weariness, the mortal strife.

2. We would see Jesus??Ǩ?the strong Rock foundation
Whereon our feet are set by sovereign grace;
Not life or death, with all their agitation,
Can thence remove us if we seek His face.

3. We would see Jesus??Ǩ?other lights are paling
Which for long years we have rejoiced to see;
The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing??Ǩ?
We would not mourn them, for we come to Thee.

4. We would see Jesus??Ǩ?that is all we??Ǩ?Ѣre needing,
Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight;
We would see Jesus??Ǩ?dying, risen, pleading??Ǩ?
Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night!

After reading the first two stanzas, did you recall the line from Jesus loves me, ??Ǩ???Ǩthey (we) are weak, but He is strong.??Ǩ? I wonder if John might have reminisced about that encounter at the Temple when he penned Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs words, ??Ǩ?I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.??Ǩ When the Spirit revealed to each of the seven churches in Revelation the very aspect of Jesus Christ??Ǩ?Ѣs character and work they had neglected, did John remember Jesus??Ǩ?Ѣ response at the Temple, ??Ǩ?the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.??Ǩ?

Is it possible there are some among our acquaintances today, like the Greeks then, who are asking, wishing, desiring to see Jesus? They may not know the questions to ask or the words to say. We may not know the hymn. They might have a passing awareness of who Jesus is. We might only vaguely remember reading about this in John??Ǩ?Ѣs Gospel. They would see Jesus. What are we who have seen Jesus to do for those who would see Jesus?

The answer is not to show them the ??Ǩ?red??Ǩ?Ѣ hymnal!

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